Day: May 9, 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin marked Victory Day Friday with his first visit to Crimea since it was annexed from Ukraine in March. As part of the May 9th events, President Putin oversaw a massive military parade celebrating victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

“This is a holiday when all-conquering patriotic force triumphs, when we all feel especially strongly what it means to be true to the Motherland and how important it is to be able to stand up for its interests,” Putin told massed troops to shouts of “Hurrah! Hurrah!”

Watching a military parade in Sevastopol on the Black Sea, Putin said: “There is a lot of work ahead but we will overcome all difficulties because we are together, which means we have become stronger.”

Who are the girls in the photos being used on the Twitter campaign #BringBackOurGirls in support of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram? The photos were used without permission of the photographer Ami Vitale. The girls in the photos are not Nigerian schoolgirls but instead are girls in Guinea-Bissau.

Ami Vitale took the photos to show the hope and resilence of people in Guinea-Bissau. The BBC removed the photos from the related blog post on the BBC website. However Chris Brown has not removed the photos.

Using those photos without permission is a huge infringement and misrepresentation of the girls in the photos, their families, and the photographer. The photos should be taken down by those who used them without permission.

There were three photos that were taken from either my website or the Alexia Foundation website, and someone made these images the face of the campaign….

There are many times when I get upset when people take my photos without permission, but this isn’t about that. I support the campaign completely and I would do anything to bring attention to the situation. It’s a beautiful campaign that shows the power of social media. This is a separate issue.